Combination of Au-Ag Plasmonic Nanoparticles of Varied Compositions with Carbon Nitride for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Ibuprofen under Visible Light

Au-Ag/g-C(3)N(4) nanohybrids 2–3 were synthesized by the one-pot self-reduction of the organometallic precursor [Au(2)Ag(2)(C(6)F(5))(4)(OEt(2))(2)](n) in the presence of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C(3)N(4)), leading to two populations of alloyed Au-Ag nanoparticles (NPs) of different size and composition on the surface of g-C(3)N(4), i.e., Ag-enriched Au-Ag NPs of smaller size and Au-enriched Au-Ag NPs of larger size. The combination of these two types of plasmonic NPs with g-C(3)N(4) semiconductor displays enhanced photocatalytic properties towards the degradation of ibuprofen under visible light by the increased charge carrier separation provided by the inclusion of the plasmonic NPs on g-C(3)N(4).